View source for Masters of Rome

{{Italics title}}
{{short description|Series of historical novels by Colleen McCullough}}
{{about|the historical novel series by Colleen McCullough|the Rome Masters tennis tournament|Italian Open (tennis)|the golf tournament|Roma Masters}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2021}}
'''''Masters of Rome''''' is a series of [[historical fiction|historical novels]] by Australian author [[Colleen McCullough]], set in ancient [[Rome]] during the last days of the old [[Roman Republic]]; it primarily chronicles the lives and careers of [[Gaius Marius]], [[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]], [[Pompey|Pompey the Great]], [[Julius Caesar|Gaius Julius Caesar]], and the early career of [[Augustus|Caesar Augustus]]. It spans from January 1, 110 BC through to January 16, 27 BC.
==Cast of characters==
Other major historical figures who appear and play prominent parts in the series include [[Mithridates VI of Pontus]], [[Marcus Aemilius Scaurus (consul 115 BC)|Marcus Aemilius Scaurus]], [[Publius Rutilius Rufus]], [[Quintus Sertorius]], [[Marcus Livius Drusus (tribune)|Marcus Livius Drusus]], [[Jugurtha of Numidia]], [[Spartacus]], [[Marcus Licinius Crassus]], [[Marcus Tullius Cicero]], [[Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus]], [[Cato the Younger|Marcus Porcius Cato]], [[Publius Clodius]], [[Titus Annius Milo]], [[Vercingetorix]], [[Marcus Junius Brutus]], [[Gaius Cassius Longinus]], [[Mark Antony]], [[Cleopatra VII of Egypt]], [[Caesarion]] and [[Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa]]. Each book in the series features a detailed glossary, hand-drawn illustrations of the major characters, and notes by McCullough detailing her reasoning for portraying certain events in certain ways.
==Historical thesis==
The series has a thesis (first introduced in 1939 by Sir [[Ronald Syme]] in his epic historical treatise ''[[The Roman Revolution]]''): as Rome became more powerful within the Mediterranean world, the old ways of doing things &ndash; through the deliberation of various interests, mainly aristocratic and mercantile &ndash; became impossibly cumbersome. It became more and more difficult to govern an empire with institutions originally designed to administer a city-state. Certain powerful leaders (especially Marius, Sulla, and Caesar) tried to create a state in which they had autocratic power but also preserved the externals of the old ways.  They were opposed by the conservatives (called the [[optimates]] by classical historians, though they themselves preferred{{fact|date=February 2015}} the title ''boni'' or "good men").  The result was the birth of an imperial [[Roman Empire|monarchy]], and a radically different organization of power.{{Fact|date=September 2011}}  
==Depiction of Caesar==
McCullough portrays Caesar as an autocrat, great military man, [[populist]], and controversial reformer. She does not portray the death of the Republic as positive, but rather portrays Caesar as a great man and his crossing of the Rubicon as inevitable, given that the alternative was exile, disgrace, and the violation of his [[Dignitas (Roman concept)|dignitas]], which was an unthinkable [[anathema]] to a Roman [[Patrician (ancient Rome)|Patrician]] of consular rank. According to McCullough's portrayal, Caesar's [[Caesar's Civil War|crossing of the Rubicon]] was his last option, his last roll of the dice, as best illustrated by the timeless quote from Caesar: "The die is cast." McCullough points out that the translation of the alternative Greek version of his words is "Let the dice fly high," which characterises not fatalism (as with the former) but rather risk-taking.
==List of novels==
The novels of the series are

#''[[The First Man in Rome (novel)|The First Man in Rome]]'' (1990); spanning the years 110&ndash;100 BC
#''[[The Grass Crown (novel)|The Grass Crown]]'' (1991); spanning the years 97&ndash;86 BC
#''Fortune's Favourites'' (1993); spanning the years 83&ndash;69 BC
#''[[Caesar's Women]]'' (1997); spanning the years 67&ndash;59 BC
#''[[Caesar (McCullough novel)|Caesar]]'' (1998); spanning the years 54&ndash;48 BC
#''[[The October Horse (novel)|The October Horse]]'' (2002); spanning the years 48&ndash;41 BC
#''Antony and Cleopatra'' (2007); spanning the years 41&ndash;27 BC
==Continuation of the series==
McCullough originally decided to end the series with ''The October Horse'' because in her opinion the ultimate fall of the Roman Republic took place after the [[Battle of Philippi]], with the death of Caesar's assassins. However, most historians place the end of the Republic a decade later, after the final showdown between Augustus and Mark Antony at the [[Battle of Actium]], in 31 BC.  

McCullough said that her publisher wanted her to write ''[[The Thorn Birds]]'' sequels instead of the Roman books because the latter, while popular, did not sell as well. [[Bob Carr]], former [[premier]] of [[New South Wales]], publicly campaigned for McCullough to write further Roman novels.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/21/1085120115801.html?from=storyrhs |title=Toga party in Maquarie Street |access-date=16 January 2018 |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=22 May 2004 }}</ref> In response to lobbying from fans, McCullough completed one more volume, ''Antony and Cleopatra'', released in September 2007 in the UK and December 2007 in the US. Carr argued that she should not continue in chronological order through the [[Second Triumvirate]] and the [[Julio-Claudian Dynasty|Julio-Claudian]] and [[Flavian dynasty|Flavian]] dynasties, but instead skip ahead to write about the [[Five Good Emperors]].{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} This was always unlikely, as her eyesight deteriorated due to [[macular degeneration]] before her death in early 2015.

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Masters of Rome}}

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[[Category:Masters of Rome series|-]]
[[Category:Book series introduced in 1990]]
[[Category:Novels about Cicero]]
[[Category:Depictions of Julius Caesar in literature]]
[[Category:Depictions of Augustus in literature]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Sulla]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Pompey]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Spartacus]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Marcus Licinius Crassus]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Cato the Younger]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Vercingetorix]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Marcus Junius Brutus]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Mark Antony]]
[[Category:Depictions of Cleopatra in literature]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Caesarion]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Gaius Marius]]